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Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical landscape of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, from its role in opera's development to fellow composers inspired by one of music's greatest legends.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical landscape of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Gluck's opera was by no means the first work to be inspired by the great myth of Orpheus - the legendary musician who journeyed to the underworld in a bid to rescue his wife, Eurydice. Sara traces the tale's musical legacy, from the birth of opera itself to the present day. Along the way, she hears Orphic music by Claudio Monteverdi, Dobrinka Tabakova, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and perhaps the most famous retelling of all, Jacques Offenbach's 'Can-Can' from Orpheus in the Underworld.

Sara also explores a selection of works which place the flute centre stage, featuring music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Claude Debussy, Imogen Holst, alongside a composer who was profoundly influenced by Gluck's operatic reforms and took them to dizzying new heights: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

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1 hour, 29 minutes

Last on

Yesterday 13:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Orfeo ed Euridice)

    Ensemble: La Nuova Musica. Conductor: David Bates.
    • Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 27.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Horn Concerto No 1 (1st mvt, Allegro)

    Performer: Přemysl Vojta. Orchestra: Haydn Ensemble Prague. Conductor: Martin Petrák.
    • Michael & Joseph Haydn: Horn Concertos.
    • CAvi-music.
    • 109.

  • Claudio Monteverdi

    L'Orfeo (Toccata)

    Ensemble: Le Concert d’Astrée. Ensemble: Les Sacqueboutiers. Conductor: Emmanuelle Haïm.
    • Virgin.

  • Dobrinka Tabakova

    Orpheus' Comet

    Orchestra: Hallé. Conductor: Delyana Lazarova.
    • Tabakova: Orpheus' Comet.
    • Halle Concerts Society.
    • 1.

  • Jóhann Jóhannsson

    Orphic Hymn

    Ensemble: Theatre of Voices. Conductor: Paul Hillier.
    • DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON.

  • Philip Glass

    La chambre d'Orphée (Orphée, Act 1)

    Performer: Katia Labèque. Performer: Marielle Labèque.
    • Glass: Cocteau Trilogy.
    • Universal Music Division Decca Records France.
    • 3.

  • Jacques Offenbach

    Can-Can (Orpheus in the Underworld)

    Orchestra: Czech Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michaela Rózsa Růžičková.
    • Koze Music Publishing.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Orchestral Suite No 2 in B minor, BWV1067 (7th mvt, Badinerie)

    Performer: Emmanuel Pahud. Ensemble: Berliner Barock Solisten.
    • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 - Orchestral Suite No. 2 - Trio Sonata - Partit.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 18.

  • Claude Debussy

    Syrinx

    Performer: Noemi Gyori.
    • Debussy: Syrinx, L. 129.
    • Rubicon.
    • 1.

  • Imogen Holst

    Persephone

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Alice Farnham.
    • Imogen Holst: Discovering Imogen.
    • NMC Recordings Limited.
    • 1.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (The Magic Flute)

    Singer: Bryn Terfel. Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Mozart: Tutto Mozart!: Bryn Terfel/Sir Charles Mackerras.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 12.

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Overture (Orfeo ed Euridice) - 1859 Berlioz Revision

    Music Arranger: Hector Berlioz. Ensemble: Collegium Instrumentale Brugensis. Director: Patrick Peire.
    • Orfeo ed Euridice - 1859 Berlioz Revision.
    • Forlane.
    • 1.

  • Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Le Rouet d'Omphale

    Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Munch.
    • Tribute to Charles Munch [Berlioz, Franck, Saint-Saëns...].
    • Praga Digitals.
    • 7.

  • Giovanni Sgambati

    3 Nocturnes, Op 20 (No 2, Allegretto con moto)

    Performer: Cecilia Facchini.
    • Piano Classics.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Ombra Mai Fu (Xerxes)

    Singer: Kathleen Ferrier. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Malcolm Sargent.
    • Glorious Divas of Yesteryear.
    • Memory Lane.
    • 11.

  • Chevalier de Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne

    Overture (L'Amant anonyme)

    Orchestra: Haymarket Opera Company. Conductor: Craig Trompeter.
    • Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges: L'Amant anonyme.
    • Cedille.
    • 1.

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Orfeo ed Euridice)

    Ensemble: La Nuova Musica. Conductor: David Bates.
    • Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 28.

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Che farò senza Euridice! (Orfeo ed Euridice)

    Singer: Iestyn Davies. Ensemble: La Nuova Musica. Conductor: David Bates.
    • Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 40.

Broadcast

  • Yesterday 13:30
    BBC Radio 3